Da Costa: You really feel that you’re in an F1 car here at Silverstone

17 July, 2013

Antonio Felix da Costa Red Bull RB9

Infiniti Red Bull Racing’s Young Driver Test got underway at Silverstone today, with António Félix da Costa at the wheel. After a change to the team’s schedule, António spent the full day in the RB9 and afterwards said the experience of driving an F1 car at Silverstone had been one to savour.

“It was nice to get the full day’s running, especially here,” he said. “If there’s a circuit where you really feel that you’re in an F1 car, it’s here at Silverstone, with all these fast corners. It something completely different and something you have to get used to but it was a great day, a great feeling.

“In terms of the work, it was a good day,” he added. “Obviously, it’s not the first time for me in a Red Bull car, so everything is sort of familiar. It’s an important test for the team and my job is simply to drive consistently and not make mistakes. I think we achieved the goal of being consistent and working through the programme.”

Race Engineering Co-ordinator Andy Damerum said: “António did a good job today. It’s not always easy for a driver, as there’s a lot to take and a lot of different demands being made of them. António obviously drove for us at last year’s Young Driver test, but that was some time ago and getting back into an F1 car again isn’t always easy. But he did almost 350 km before the lunch break and was feeling fine, which was good. In the morning we had him doing some specific things which didn’t provide him with the chance to set a quick lap, but after lunch when that opportunity did arise he was able to find a rhythm very quickly, which is not always easy to do and he set a decent time. As for the team’s work, there’s always a few niggles with a test car, but we did manage to get through a lot of things on our plan, so I think we can mark it down as a successful day overall.” (Red Bull)